Knights elevate above the rim in win

Photo by Patrick ShelbySECOND HELPING — SCHS senior Kyler Marsh floats thru the lane and scoops up a field goal in the opening half as the Knights led the Mustangs at halftime 45-25. Marsh hit five, 3 point shots during their first victory of the new year.

HIGH FLYING MOTIVATION — SCHS senior Ross Faber gets out on the breakaway jam in the second quarter during the Knights 68-42 home court win over Trout Lake Friday night. The Greater Columbia Gorge conference game was the first for both teams as Sunnyside Christian remained unbeaten and improved to 10-0 overall.

SUNNYSIDE  New nylon nets, heavenly white in color, lined the orange rims with revered authority while Sunnyside Christian’s Ross Faber hung from the cylinder to keep the jammed cords perfectly aligned as he and his teammates won their first conference game against visiting Trout Lake 68-42 Friday night.

The Knights (1-0, Greater Columbia Gorge and 10-0, overall) overcame the holiday trappings of their winter break, along with the unyielding Mustangs (0-1, Greater Columbia Gorge and 8-2, overall) to remain unbeaten.

Sunnyside rumbled to a 20-point lead while holding Trout Lake to 6 points in the first quarter. Both teams scored 19 points in the second quarter as the Knights led 45-25 at halftime.

“We haven’t had a practice with everybody in quite a while and with sickness involved, so I didn’t know what to expect,” SCHS Varsity Coach Dean Wagenaar said. “We came out hot… defensively we got tired and started missing a few things. Sometimes, we didn’t rotate as well as we should. We’ve got to work through that.”

Faber started the game with an extra giddy-up in his step. The 6’3” wingman got out on the fast break in the first and second quarters, displayed his athletic hops with a Hawkeye flight of homecourt dunks that motivated the Knights to get their game back on in 2019.

“Out on the fast break… I just saw it… where it was wide open, and when it’s wide open, I’ll usually try,” Faber acknowledged.

The senior was the team’s leading scorer with 18 points in which he collected all in the first 16 minutes of the game. Faber made four field goals, three from beyond the arch and hit 1-of-2 free throws.

“Trout Lake was 8-1 and they were number 3 in the RPI (Rating Percentage Index) and they have some very good wins. We knew coming in from last year, they can shoot the ball,” Wagenaar declared. “You have to defend them, and you have to know how to defend them. Number 3 (TLHS sophomore Micah Colburn) is a special kid.”

The pace of the game slowed down for both teams in the second half. Playing their first game of the new year and inaugural conference game of the season, Sunnyside Christian outscored Trout Lake 23-17 to close out the game and keep their record perfect.

“We thought… I could have the advantage, or if they double teamed, I could kick it out to someone and see over the defense and get it to someone else,” Faber replied. “When they doubled me, he’ll (Brennan Rip) be under the hoop waiting for it.”

Kyler Marsh added 17 points and connected on five 3-point shots. Lucas Dykstra chipped in 12. The Knights made 18 field goals, 10 treys and shot 2-of-8 from the free throw line.

“I tell the kids, we don’t get too worked up because we’ve got to beat them in the post-season, and that’s when it matters. But we want to learn every nuance of every kid, so we know who to help off of and how much you can help off this kid,” Wagenaar conveyed.